Daddy's Little Girl
by BitOBonesFluff
Summary: Written just to pass the time with my tongue planted firmly in my cheek. Booth is having trouble coming to grips with the fact that his little girl isn't so little any more. He faces the trials of having a headstrong teenage daughter with some comical and also stressful situations. Completely AU 6 chapters. Complete.
1. Chapter 1

Deep bassy classical style rock music with heavy violin wafted down the hallway from the living room, attracted Booth's attention away from the report he was reading. _Or trying to read_ he thought.

He looked up from the door, frowning, then tried to find the place in the report where he stopped reading. Working on a Saturday was not his favourite thing to do any more. Over the years, he had managed to reduce his hours. Marriage, two young kids and a dog had given him more interesting things to do on the weekends. This Friday had been particularly stressful though, and then Caroline had sent him a box of reports related to a cold case late last night. She asked him if he could have a look over the weekend and report to her first thing Monday morning.

His daughter and her friends squealing pulled his attention away again.

"This is impossible. I'm not going to get anything done" he growled putting the folder on the desk. The girls screaming made him glare at the door. "What are those girls doing?" he said as he pushed his chair away from the desk. He stood up and stretched. _I need to go for a walk_ he thought randomly as he listened to the voices floating down the hallway.

Dealing with a fourteen year old girl, who thought, and acted like she was twenty was making Booth feel old these days. Brennan and Hank were out at his rehearsal for the school play. Booth had been left in charge of three young teens, something that caused him to have fleeting moments of terror, intermingled with fear and frustration.

He stalked down the hallway towards the high pitched voices. Entering the living, room he saw the back of three heads huddled together, whispering and giggling about something. He jumped as a loud banging accompanied by a woman screaming rang out from the TV which was turned up way too loud.

"Chris. Chris? Christine!" he yelled over the TV.

Christine barely turned her head and retorted "Dad, not now. He's going to swoop in any minute and I don't want to miss it"

"Swoop in? What? What the hell are you watching?" he asked again, his voice barely audible.

Booth focussed on the TV screen as a tall, handsome man with dark brooding eyes and hair that strangely resembled his own hairstyle appeared. His long black coat, flying out behind him as he dropped down from somewhere unseen, above. He pulled a man with a strange monster face away from the woman who was screaming and he deftly snapped it's neck, flinging the lifeless body to one side.

"What is this?" he asked again, picking up the remote and turning down the volume.

"Dad!"

"Mr. Booth!"

Three young voices cried out.

"Dad! Really? It was right at the good part. We'll have to rewind it once I get rid of him" Christine turned and said to her friends.

Booth eyes blinked several time. At what point did his sweet little girl become this snarky, young thing with attitude. He held up the remote and pointed it at the TV. "What is this?" he asked again.

His daughter rolled her eyes dramatically and let her head flop to one side. "We're watching Angel. Obviously. He's so gorgeous. He's a vampire. But he's not a bad vampire. He has a soul. See over two hundred years ago he killed a gypsy, and he was cursed and they returned his soul so he would have to remember every horrible thing he did, and live with it. Then he met this girl. A vampire slayer. Called Buffy and he thought he loved her, but she killed him. Then he came back to life. Thank goodness" she turned and giggled to her friends, then turned back to her father. "And now he lives in LA. With Doyle and Cordy. Who has the most amazing hair and eyes. Cordelia, not Doyle. And some of her clothes are pretty cool considering this show is so old. I think it's the nineties. I totally think they are going to get together. Angel and Cordy, not Cordy and Doyle, cos Doyle's a demon."

"He can't get with Cordy, remember? He can't have sex because he'll lose his soul again!" one of the girls said.

"Oh I know that, but I still think they'll get together. They're perfect for each other" Christine said, her voice dreamy, her eyes staring at the TV where a young woman was getting a container that was apparently blood, out of the fridge, giving it to the Angel guy who slurped at it. _He really is quite good looking_ Booth thought, randomly, then shook his head.

"Wait. What?" Booth's mouth had been hanging open, but suddenly snapped shut. "Who's having sex?"

"Oh it's alright Daddy. Ohhhhh. Just look at him" Christine's attention was drawn back to the television where Angel was now walking around without a shirt on.

Booth's eyes opened wide and he lifted the remote and hit the off button.

"That's it. I forbid you from watching this Angel show" he said. He could feel his heart beating and he was sweating. _Since when did fourteen year old girls find semi naked men attractive? arent' they supposed to be into Barbie Dolls or making beads or something?_

"Dad! No! What are you doing. You're so embarrassing!" Christine had stood up and was facing her father, her hands planted firmly on her hips, just as her father did when he was making a point.

"I bet your mother doesn't know you're watching this, this, this vampire sex show!" he said. "Do your mothers know you're watching this?" he asked Christine's friends who nodded.

"Don't be ridiculous Daddy. There's no sex. He's a _VAMPIRE_! Don't you know anything? Duh. Anyway, Mom knows we're watching it. She bought me the boxed set of DVD's." she said her eyes rolling again. "She said it's good to watch things that stimulate one's imagination. Especially seeing as I want to be a writer."

 _She just said Duh to me!_

"There's a set?" Booth said, the hand with the remote falling limply by his side.

"Of course! I can't believe you haven't heard of this show. You wouldn't have been that old when it was on TV" Christine said, making Booth cringe _. She's talking to me like I'm ancient or something!_ he thought. "Buffy The Vampire Slayer? Angel?" she said, staring pointedly at her father.

Something sparked in his mind "OK. Yes. I kind of remember there was a show called Buffy" he mumbled.

"OK, well there you go. And Angel was the spin off. We watched Buffy last year and Mom got me the Angel set a few weeks ago. We've been waiting for summer break so we can binge it." Christine said, her hands held out in front of her.

Booth stared at his daughter for a moment. Only she wasn't the fourteen, almost fifteen year old in front of him. She was twelve, beating him at monopoly. She was eight, he was teaching her to pitch a softball for the first time. She was six, he was teaching her to tie her ballet slippers. She was two, still in nappies still using baby talk and he was trying to teach her to say Philly Flyers.

"Dad! The remote?" He snapped back into the room. Christine's hand was waving in front of him, fingers opening and closing impatiently.

Booth wanted to stand firm. Say no way. You're not watching that. But he couldn't. He stared into those eyes. Bright. Blue. Exactly like her mother's. They had the same effect on him as his wife's did too. Coupled with his own powers of persuasion, she was a force to be reckoned with. _God help us when she's old enough to date._ He pressed his lips together and exhaled heavily, putting the remote into her hand.

Her fingers wrapped around it, but Booth kept his grip on it for a moment.

"If I see anything that looks like. Like there is any. If I see people." He stuttered as Christine pulled it from his hand and pressed the play button. The girls all audibly sighed as the picture appeared on the screen.

"Does he take his shirt off a lot?" he asked pointing at the TV as Angel leaned against a door frame, his old fashioned red smoking jacket hanging open, revealing a well toned Booth shook his head, breaking that thought and pulling his eyes away "You're sure there's absolutely no sex in this show?" he asked, blinking.

"Absolutely not" Christine said.

"OK. I guess it's alright. Especially if your mother approves" he said, unaware that Christine had her fingers crossed behind her back. She wasn't entirely sure there was no sex, but she was hopeful for Angel and Cordy having some hot and steamy scenes.

"Thanks Daddy" she said wrapping her arms around her father and squeezing him tightly "You're the best! Can we have popcorn? We want to try to watch as much of season one as we can today and that calls for snacks. Lots and lots of snacks" she said, smiling sweetly.

Booth felt slightly manipulated, just for a moment, then smiled "OK sure! You want buttered or caramel? And what about some grilled cheese?"

"Buttered. Grilled cheese?" Christine turned and asked her friends, who both nodded enthusiastically.

"That would be a yes! Thanks Daddy. And can we have some soda's too? We've got a lot of episodes to watch." Christine grinned at her father, knowing that he couldn't say no to her very often.

"Coming right up!" Booth grinned back at her.

Christine turned and pressed the volume button, bringing up the sound.

Angel was telling that pretty girl something about a demon curse _._

 _I really like that black sweater with the jacket over it_ he thought, leaving the girls to watch their show.


	2. Chapter 2

"Mom! I'm going out now. Can I have some money for the movie?" Christine called as she walked through the house looking for her mother.

A voice responded through the closed bathroom door "Go ask your father Christine. I've just gotten in the bath. Could you not have asked me earlier? Don't be late home either. I don't want to have to have that curfew talk again"

Christine stood outside the bathroom, her weight pushed onto one hip, a hand pushed firmly into her waist as she looked up at the ceiling, nodding and silently mimicking her mother.

"Yes Mom. I know. Yes" she replied with an unseen shake of her head.

Brennan leaned back in the tub, closing her eyes. Lord knows she needed this bath. She had been at a meeting with Hank's home room teacher. He was falling behind in mathematics, something that Brennan found hard to believe. She, herself was quite good at mathematics and it was inconceivable that either of her children might not have inherited her talent for it. So after having a long, overly heated discussion with Hanks teacher, she had come to the conclusion that the man simply did not know what he was talking about. She was going to start tutoring Hank herself, she had told him.

Unfortunately, she then had had a huge argument with Hank on the way home. He didn't like maths. He liked sports and he liked acting. He wasn't good at maths. He was good at sport and acting was fun. And he didn't want to be tutored by her. By the time she got home, her head was pounding and her patience was worn to a thread. Hank had gotten out of the car, slammed the door and stalked off to his room.

She hated arguing with her children. It was mentally draining and rarely achieved a satisfactory result as they were so unreasonable and immature. She couldn't understand how Booth never seemed to get upset. Or he was very good at hiding his frustration. Raising two children was not as easy as she assumed it would be. When they were small, yes, it was quite easy. But in the last two years, things seemed to have derailed somewhat. Christine was fourteen now, headstrong, and mature for her age. And Hank was ten. He was tall and solid, with a natural sporting ability. He also, surprisingly had a wonderful singing voice and was in great demand for school plays. Booth was already rubbing his hands together at the thought of helping to train a future sporting legend, but where Christine was concerned, he wasn't so confident. It was as though she was a foreign, or alien creature that had replaced his beloved baby girl.

They would often lie in bed at night and talk about the children they had created and how different they were. Booth always talked about having an action plan, whereby they could always rely on each other to back the other one up when faced with situations that required a firm parental hand. She, preferred to talk things through, rationally and calmly, although that wasn't proving to be very effective as this afternoon had proved. _And it's not like I have anyone to ask_ she thought absently as she scooped two handfuls of bubbles into a mountain in front of her, then blew the bubbles so they sprayed out.

"Dad. Dad? Dad!" Christine walked through the house yelling out for her father. "Dad! Where are you?" she yelled again.

Booth could hear her, but he was busy out on the patio cleaning the grill on the barbeque and he had decided that she needed to stop yelling and actually look with her eyes.

She burst out the back door and stared at him "I was calling you Dad!" she said, huffing.

"Yes. I heard. I'm surprised you haven't lost your voice with all that yelling" he retorted with a smirk.

"Well, why didn't you answer me?" she asked, frowning at her father who was scrubbing away at the barbeque.

"Why? Let me think. I am busy cleaning the grill so I can cook dinner for us all tonight. I'm not fond of people screaming out for me. And" he hesitated, and stood up and looked at her "I'm busy cleaning the grill!" he grinned at his daughter. "And, I figured if I didn't respond you would eventually stop yelling and come find me. And look! Here you are!" he turned and walked over to her his arms outstretched, a wad of dirty newspaper in one hand and a grill scrubbing brush in the other.

"Oh no! Get away from me with those things! I've got my new top on!" she cried, holding up her hands in front of her as if to ward off an evil entity.

"No hug?" Booth pouted. "OK. So what can I do for you, now that you've found me?" he asked jovially.

"I need some money. Jen will be here soon to pick me up." She said smiling as sweetly as she could.

"Well dearest daughter of mine, we all need money. But it rarely just materializes out of thin air" Booth said grinning at his daughter.

"Dad, please?" she asked pouting at him.

Booth frowned and leaned forwards, inspecting her face "What's that?" he said.

Christine took a small step backwards "What's what?" she answered, innocently.

Booth stepped forwards following her back pedal step. "That" he dropped the wad of newspaper and pointed with a blackened finger "That. There. On your eye" he waggled his finger in front of her face.

"My. Eyelashes?" she said, looking behind her. "I think I can hear Jen's mom's car. I'm going to have to go. Daddy, please may I have some money? We're going to the mall for icecream, then we're seeing the new C.J. Adams movie. Dad?" she said as Booth's face loomed large in front of her his nose screwed up, his eyes darting across her face.

"You're wearing makeup" he said, standing up straight. "Does your mother know? I don't like it" he waved his hand in front of her face.

"Dad, everybody wears it" Christine said, rolling her eyes as she heard a car horn toot. She turned around and then back to face her father "They're here! Please Dad. Mom's in the bath and she said you would give me some money for icecream. And the movie. And maybe some popcorn and a soda?" she smiled at her father, tilting her head, her dimples puckering sweetly.

"Not everybody wears it. I don't wear it. Your brother doesn't wear it" Booth started to say.

"Dad! You're not girls! Lots of girls my age wear makeup. And it's not a lot. Just a little eye shadow and some mascara. Look" she said, pointing to her eye, batting her eyelashes at him.

"Go wash it off" he stood firm.

"Dad! No!" Christine cried.

"Wash it off or you don't go" he said, shaking his head. "I don't care about other girls. You're my girl. And my girl is twelve and she doesn't wear makeup." He dropped the barbeque scrubber and crossed his arms.

Christine's face darkened, her mouth clamping together for a moment "I'm fourteen Dad. And I'm not a child. Mom bought me the makeup and said I can wear it for special occasions. I'm going out to a movie with my friends and I'm wearing a tiny bit of makeup." She crossed her arms, her feet planted firmly into the grass, mimicking him.

Booth stared at her, his mind whirling. "Well. You should be twelve. Then we wouldn't be having this conversation. And when exactly did your mother buy you makeup? And why didn't she mention it to me? I know why! Because you both know I would have said no. Honestly, Chris. Why do you need makeup. You're a beautiful girl with amazing eyes, just like your mothers. You don't need all that. That" his hand whirled around in a circle in front of her face " stuff, clogging up your pores. You'll get pimples! And then you'll want to be buying skin wash things too! And you'll be crying oh, I can't go out because my face is covered with pimples because I wore makeup when my Daddy told me not to!" he said, his voice high and girlish.

Christine rolled her eyes again.

"And stop rolling your eyes! I'm your father! I know what I'm talking about!" he said, resisting the urge to stamp his foot.

"I have been using skin care products since I was thirteen. Mom and I went to a skin specialist and I had a class in effective skin care for teens. She bought me the whole product range. _THAT's_ why I _DON'T_ have pimples. Besides, a bit of eyeshadow won't give me pimples on my eyelids!" Christine argued back.

Booth sucked on his bottom lip for a moment "Well, it might! If you keep wearing it!" He knew he was losing this argument. "Wait. She bought a whole set? How much is a whole set?"

Jen appeared around the side of the house "Is everything alright? I could hear you yelling out the front" she said, then grinned and waved "Hey Mr B. Nice hands!" she added.

Booth looked up and saw Christine's best friend Jen standing there. "Oh yeah. Ha Ha Yeah" he waved his blackened hands around "oooh wooooh" he poked his hands in the direction of Christine's face. She remained unmoved by his attempt to be humorous. He leaned in close to her "I'm not happy about this"

Christine stood firm, unblinking, staring him down.

Booth stood up straight and lifted his arms "Fine. Back right hand pocket"

Before he could say anything else, she had deftly lifted his wallet from his pocket and was holding it up in front of him.

He blinked twice "I suppose your mother taught you how to do that?" he sighed. "OK, I think I have a twenty" he began to say as he watched his daughter pull a fifty dollar bill from his wallet.

"Thanks Daddy. You really are the best" she pushed his wallet into his hand and stretched up and kissed him on the cheek. "Love you" she called as she turned and skipped towards Jen who was grinning widely at her friend, leaving Booth with his mouth hanging open.

"That was a fifty" he called out, but Christine didn't hear him.

"Your Dad is the best!" Jen giggled as Christine linked arms with her and they disappeared around the corner of the house.

"Have a great." Booth's voice trailed off "time"

He wandered into the house, his head still spinning from his encounter with his head strong daughter. _How did she do that?_ he wondered. _I'm supposed to be the parent!_

Booth opened the bathroom door and walked in, closing the door behind him.

Brennan took one look at his face and burst out laughing. "What happened?" she asked.

"I really don't know." he mumbled as he sat on the closed lid of the toilet. He suddenly turned and looked at her "Did you buy her makeup?" he asked. "And skin care stuff?"

Brennan lifted a leg out of the water, which immediately made Booth stop talking, and slid a large sponge down the length of it "Yes. Well, Booth, she is fourteen. Why?" she asked as she repeated the process on the other leg, grabbing Booth's attention even more.

He stood up and started getting undressed.

"Booth? No. Booth, your hands are black!" Brennan laughed.

Booth stepped out of his shorts and stepped into the bath, making Brennan squeal as he dropped heavily into the water, slopping it over the edge. He leaned forward, grabbing her shoulders, leaving sooty black smudges on her clean skin as he pulled her towards him.

"And when did our daughter turn fourteen?" he mumbled just before he kissed her and lay her backwards in the bath.


	3. Chapter 3

Booth was sitting on the couch, a contented smile on his face, eyes closed. He was listening to commentators talking about the game during the break.

"DAD!" fifteen year old Christine's voice jolted him, his eyes flying open and darting left and right.

He finally found the source of the voice standing in the middle of the living room.

Christine had her hands planted on her hips, her eyes were round. "What are you doing?" she shrieked at her father.

Booth frowned and looked at the leather couch, the rug, his knees which were spread wide apart, then back at his daughter "I don't know! What's the matter?" he asked, confused.

"Dad. Your pants?" she huffed, exasperation in her voice. "God, you are so embarrassing!" she added, eyes dramatically rolling up in her head.

"My. Pants." he repeated, still confused. "My pants?"

"Oh my God. Dad. Please just, you know." Christine grabbed a pillow from the single chair and pushed it down onto his lap.

It was only then that Booth realised that his fly was wide open, his jeans pushed down low on his hips exposing the bright green and yellow boxers he wore underneath. He also became aware that Christine's friends Jen and Kayla were standing just behind her, giggling into their hands.

He could feel the burning as his embarrassment began crawling up his neck. He fumbled beneath the pillow, trying to fix his situation, but his jeans had been pushed down too far. He stood up, turned his back and pulled up his jeans, tucking everything back where it belonged, then turned and grinned at his daughter "better?" he asked.

Christine stared at him, her mouth hanging open "Oh my God" she exhaled heavily, whirling around to face her friends "I am SO sorry for that. Come on. We'll go watch TV in the other room where we won't have to deal with that" she said.

Booth stood watching his daughter as she herded her friends out of the room.

 _WOW_ he thought to himself.

He wandered out of the living room, through the kitchen and pushed open the back door. He found Brennan in the yard hanging out the laundry. He walked over to her and bent down, pulling the first thing his fingers found out of the basket and held it up.

"Ahh!" he yelped and dropped the pink lacy brassiere. "What the hell is that?" he asked Brennan staring down at the flimsy fabric lying on the top of the washing pile.

"What?" Brennan asked, bending down, absently grabbing the bra and pegging it to the line.

"That! That's not yours!" he mumbled.

"What are you talking about Booth. This?" she grabbed the bra by one cup and half lifted it up.

Booth recoiled as though he was confronted by a poisonous snake.

"It's Christine's, silly." she said, pulling another lacy creation from the basket, this time lavender.

"Since when?" Booth asked. He was honestly shocked as she pegged two pairs of skimpy underpants next to the bras.

"Since when what?" Brennan asked. "Booth you're not making any sense"

Booth pointed at the lacy garments waving in the breeze "When did my little girl start wearing things like that?" he asked trying not to sound completely panicked.

Brennan looked at the underwear, then back at him and shook her head. "She started wearing things like that when she grew breasts Booth. Would you rather she just freeballed it?"

Booth blinked several times "freeball? Bones. No. That's not. That's what. Never mind. No. I just didn't realise. I mean. She's only fifteen! She shouldn't be wearing that stuff yet! Is she, you know, early for her age or something?"

"Booth! You're joking, right? Are you telling me you haven't noticed your daughter's body over the last year or so? She's been wearing bras for about twelve months and I've had to go shopping to buy her proper fitting brassieres a few months ago. She's going to have much larger"

Booth's hands flew to his ears "No! No No No Bones. Too much information. She's just fifteen! Fifteen! My little girl is just fifteen!" he chanted, his face blanching. It suddenly occurred to him that he actually hadn't noticed at all. Not any of the times he hugged her, threw her onto the couch and tickled her. Not when he tackled her in the back yard when she,Hank and he were playing touch football.

 _Oh my god. Oh my god! She has breasts!_ his brain spat at him. _BREASTS!_

Brennan turned to face him. "Booth. What is wrong with you? I'm doing the laundry. Just like I do every other weekend, and hanging out everyone's underwear, while you sit on the couch and watch sport. In fact. Why aren't you inside watching it now?" she asked.

Booth shook his head "I. Well. Apparently it's unacceptable for me to sit on the sofa with my pants undone" he said.

Brennan stared at him for a moment then burst out laughing. "Don't tell me. Christine came in with her friends and you've embarrassed her again?" she asked.

Booth's frown deepened "What do you mean again? Besides. It's Saturday afternoon! I always sit on the sofa and watch the game. She never comes into the room. Actually she's hardly ever home on a Saturday afternoon. How was I supposed to know she was going to walk in with her friends?" he said.

Brennan handed him the empty washing basket and started walking back to the house. "Booth, you have to understand. She's fifteen going on sixteen. She finds some things you do embarrassing. It's different now." She held the door open for him.

Booth walked past her into the laundry and put the basket down on the bench top. Brennan followed him in and closed the door behind her.

"She's got breasts" Booth muttered under his breath.

"What?" Brennan said, frowning at him "Did you just say she's got breasts? Booth. Honestly." she said, rolling her eyes and leaving him standing in the laundry.

* * *

Booth sat at the head of the dinner table. Brennan was standing on one side of the table, holding a large bowl of salad.

"Jen?" she offered the bowl to the girl sitting next to Christine.

"Thanks Mrs B" she grinned, using the salad servers to pull a serve of crisp green salad onto her plate. She then replaced the servers and grabbed the bowl "It's OK. We'll look after ourselves" Jen smiled, taking the bowl and placing it in front of Kayla.

Brennan sat down next to Booth, opposite Christine and smiled. "So what have you girls been up to today?" she asked.

Christine's eyes flicked to her father, then back to Brennan "Not much. We've got a party to go to tonight. At Brittneys"

"Brittney? Brittney who?" Booth's over protective Dad mode kicked in.

Christine rolled her eyes and looked at her friends "See what I live with?" she muttered, then looked squarely back at her father, her chin jutted out. "Brittney Harville. She lives on Winslow. Her father works at the local mall. He's got the bakery called, funnily enough, Harville's" she rattled off all the information she knew her father would be asking.

Booth blinked at his daughter as she stared at him. He tried to hold her gaze, but he couldn't. _she's getting too good at this_ he thought as he cleared his throat and pushed salad around his plate. "What kind of party is it? Will there be boys? Are"

He was cut off by Christine. "Its just a party. Yes there will be boys there. Brittney has four brothers and I'm pretty sure they'll be there seeing as it's their house. Yes, her parents are going to be there. No there won't be any alcohol. Yes I probably will dance with a boy. No I don't plan on kissing a boy. Although" she cheekily let her voice trail of and stared dreamily at a spot just past her father's head.

Booth clamped his lips together. He knew exactly what she was doing.

"Christine, please don't bait your father." Brennan said trying not to laugh.

Booth stabbed at the salad with his fork and shoved a large mouthful of lettuce into his mouth and crunched it noisily, then swallowed.

"May I ask what time is the party finishing?" he asked as calmly as he could.

Christine shrugged "I dunno" She looked at Kayla, and raised one eyebrow before looking back at her father "I think around one?" she said.

"One? No. You'll be home by midnight. I think that's fair. Don't you honey?" Booth said looking at Brennan.

"Midnight seems a little late, but seeing as it's a supervised function. I think that's fair." She said nodding, knowing full well that her daughter had added an hour onto the finish time, knowing that Booth would cut an hour off. She smiled and winked at Christine, who blinked her eyes, smiled and delicately began to eat her salad.

* * *

Booth was waiting impatiently by the door. He had offered to drive the girls to the party after dinner. Christine had tried to get her mother to take them, but Booth had insisted. Plus he was going to swing past the O'Briens and pick up Hank who had been at his friends house for a sleepover last night. There may also be a stop for icecream along the way.

"How long do these girls need to get ready? " Booth muttered as he looked at his watch, then looked at Brennan who was sitting on the sofa reading a medical magazine.

"Did you see? Clarke has been honoured for his work in genetics!" She said suddenly. "I always knew he had it in him to achieve big things. If it wasn't for me pushing him as I did, he probably would never have gotten to this point" she added.

Booth smirked "No. You're probably right. He would probably still be cleaning bones if it wasn't for you" he said, chuckling, then had his attention pulled away by the chatter of the three girls as they came into the living room.

"You all look lovely" Brennan said, standing up and walking over to Christine "I know I don't need to say it but"

"No. You don't, but I know you will anyway" Christine said tilting her head.

"Be careful. And call if you need us to come and pick you up earlier. Kayla? Jen? Will you need a lift home?" she asked.

"No thanks Mrs B. Jen's Dad is coming to pick us up. I'm going to crash there tonight" Kayla smiled.

Booth, meanwhile, was staring at his daughter, his mouth hanging open.

Christine noticed his slack jawed stare and frowned "What's wrong now?" she asked, irritated because she knew that she was about to have another _discussion_ with her father.

"What are you wearing?" Booth asked.

Christine sighed loudly, pushed one hip out, planted a hand firmly on it and shook her head "What do you mean? I'm wearing clothes"

Booth's head began to shake from side to side "Oh I don't think so." He said, "Excuse me girls, you can go wait in the car. We'll just be a minute." he nodded to Christine's friends who shrugged at Christine and walked out the front door.

"I'm dressed exactly the same as they are. You didn't say anything to them!" Christine started to raise her voice.

"They're not my problem. You are my problem. That" his hand waved up and down "is my problem"

Christine was wearing a pair of white low-rise jeans with a hot pink belt, and a hot pink floral top that was fitted and just skimmed her belly button.

"There's all that skin there in the middle. It's too much!" Booth said. "Too much!" he repeated.

"Mom!" Christine pleaded.

"Booth. Please. This is getting ridiculous. First you carried on about Christine's brassieres"

Christine's mouth dropped open as she stepped forward "What? He's been looking at my underwear? That's just. No. Mom!"

Brennan closed her eyes for a moment "Now Christine. I was just hanging out the washing and your father noticed your garments on the line and was unaware that you now have well developed breasts."

"Bones!"

"Mom!"

Brennan exhaled, her hands held out in front of her "Stop. Both of you. Booth. She looks fine. She looks pretty. I bought her that outfit, and I was with her when she tried it on. She, and her friends dress the same as their peers. They're young girls on the verge of womanhood. They're fulfilling their need to preen and prepare to attract mates"

"Mom!"

"Bones!"

Brennan shook her head "Not that our daughter will be mating any time soon. But it's just nature. She's growing up and it's natural for her to want to been seen as an equal by her peers. And that means dressing a certain way." Brennan lay her hand on Booth's arm. "Don't forget who's daughter she is Booth. She's ours. And she has the very best of us in her. She's not going to do anything inappropriate for her age." She looked at Christine "Right?"

Christine nodded, her arms folded across her chest "Of course not! I'm not stupid! Can't you just trust that I know what I'm doing Dad? I'm your daughter. I'm a Booth." She said clamping her lips together.

Booth stared at his daughter for a moment then nodded "Fine. Don't think I'm happy about all that, you know. Skin. But OK. As long as nobody is going to be going anywhere near that. I'm sorry. Of course I trust you baby" he said as he saw his daughters face growing annoyed again. "You're a Booth!" he echoed.

He held out his arms and Christine reluctantly let herself be hugged and cuddled for a moment. "Dad! My hair!" she pulled away as his lips pressed onto the top of her head.

"OK. OK! I get it. You're also getting too old to be hugged by your Dad" he said, the tiniest bit of disappointment tinging his voice.

Christine watched his face grow a little sad and she immediately felt bad "I'm sorry Daddy. Of course I'm not too old to be hugged. I know you are just worrying about me, but here's the thing. I'm fifteen. I'm going to be sixteen in a few months and I know it's hard for you. But you've done a great job raising me. I'm careful, and I'm cautious. I know right from wrong. And I will always call you if I need you." she said smiling at him. "So can we go now? Seeing as we have to be home by midnight?"

Booth nodded and smiled back "Sure. OK. Let's go." he said.

"Bye Mom" she said as she ran out the front door.

Booth stood for a moment and watched her go then looked at Brennan "That's our girl" he said grinning, "Did she really think I didn't know she added an hour to the finishing time of the party?"


	4. Chapter 4

"No. Bones. Absolutely not. I'm not letting just anyone teach my girl to drive!" Booth said, banging the palm of his hand on the dining table.

"Dad. It's Drivers Ed. Everyone is learning to drive at school!" Christine argued.

"Booth, she's sixteen years old, and learning to drive is part of the curriculum" Brennan tried to reason with her husband.

"Have you done background checks on this person? Do they have any driving infractions? Have they been in trouble with the law? Do they have children? How do I know they don't access child porn at night while they sit in their sad little apartment, eating cold cuts and drinking Bud?" Booth said, his forehead furrowed.

"Booth that's ridiculous" Brennan said leaning back in her chair.

"If you have your way I will be the only one at school that doesn't get their license. In fact, I bet you'd be happy if I was still living at home and having you drive me everywhere when I'm twenty five!" Christine stood up. "I'm going to my room" She stormed off leaving Booth and Brennan sitting at the table staring at each other across the table.

"That's OK Dad. I'll be happy to have you teach me to drive. Then I'll drive her around as long as she pays me gas money" Hank smirked, his dark brown eyes sparkling. He leaned back in his seat and ran his hand through his dark wavy hair as he laughed. "She so dramatic." Then he leaned forwards and banged a hand on the table " Damn! I should have had my camera here. That would have made a great scene for my home movie" he said, picking up his fork and digging into the apple pie sitting in front of him. "Great pie Mom" he said, his mouth full.

"Hank don't speak with your mouth full" Brennan tilted her head in the direction of her twelve year old son. He was growing up quickly. Tall for his age, solidly built. He looked so much like Booth, and of course he had inherited his father's quick wit, which often infuriated her. He was incredibly talented, with a strong singing voice, and a natural dance ability, as well as being athletic. It had disappointed Booth that he was more interested in the performing arts than in sports. But he had learned pretty quickly that his children were both independent and sure of themselves. They knew what they wanted, and wouldn't let anyone or anything get in the way of achieving it. Not even their parents.

"Sorry" Hank replied, his mouth, again, full of pie. "But you know she always provides the best material" he said, referring to the home movie he was making about his family. "Oh! Did I tell you? We have auditions for the new production of Footloose this week! "

Booth looked at his son "Footloose? Isn't that with Kevin Bacon?" he asked looking at Brennan who shrugged.

"Bacon? Who's that?" Hank said, frowning at his father. "It's a movie about a guy who moves to a small town" he began to say, when his father cut him off.

"and the town doesn't allow dancing. And the city boy arranges a dance. Yeah! With Kevin Bacon!" Booth said, then started snapping his fingers and singing "Now I gotta get loose, footloose. Kick off your Sunday blues, Jeez, Louise, pull me off of my knees. Jack, get that, come on before we crack, Blues, your blues, everybody got footloose"

Hank stared at him, his mouth lightly open "For a start, you don't even know the right words, secondly, Dad, I don't want to hurt your feelings, but." Hank shook his head "Dad, you really can not sing!"

"Hank! That's not very nice!" Brennan said, but secretly agreeing with her son. It was no secret that Booth was tone deaf.

"Mom. I'm sorry, but he can't. It literally hurts my ears. In fact, can you look and make sure they're not bleeding? And it's sacrilege to hear him butchering the lyrics of the main theme of the movie!" Hank said, then shovelled another spoonful of pie into his mouth. "Just saying. And I still don't know who that Bacon guy is. The lead role of Ren is played by Kenny Wormald and Julianne Howe plays Ariel."

Booth's head started shaking "No! The original movie. Which I have to say is the best version, has Kevin Bacon as Ren and Lori Singer as Ariel" he said.

Hank sat and stared at his father "So there's an old fashioned version? Is it in black and white?" he asked. "Do you have it on blue ray?"

Booth put his fork down on the table "No! Why do you always assume that every movie I've ever watched is black and white? I'm not that old!" Booth retorted, slightly offended.

"What role are you trying out for?" Brennan asked, redirecting the subject.

"Oh I'm going to audition for Willard. But it's a given. I've already got the role" he said grinning. "He's interesting and his character is quite underrated. Plus you need to be able to dance well to be able to dance so badly, you know?"

Brennan frowned "Why aren't you auditioning for the lead?" she asked.

"Because Ren is just too much of a pretty boy." Hank said, grinning.

"Excuse me? Have you all forgotten about my driver's license issues?" Christine had walked back into the room, disappointed to see that they had moved on from her problem.

Brennan looked up and smiled "Of course not sweetheart. We were just hearing about Hanks audition."

"Oh right." she said, her hand held out in Hank's direction " Because the all singing, all dancing version of Dad is more important than your daughter being trapped in her home because she can't drive!" Christine's dramatic outburst made Booth smirk and smother a chuckle as she flopped into a chair.

"This is why I need to keep my camera close by!" Hank said to his mother, his hand held out in Christine's direction.

"Don't worry. You're not going to be _trapped_." Booth said, emphasising the last word with airquotes. "I'm going to teach you to drive" he announced.

"What?" Brennan said, her eyes wide.

"Have you got life insurance?" Hank said.

"No! Oh you have got to be kidding. Mom?" Christine was horrified.

"Oh no. You're not going to get your mother to run interference for you. If you want to learn to drive, then I'm the perfect, and only, person who's qualified to teach you." he said leaning back in his seat, his hands clasped behind his head.

Hank chuckled as he cut himself another slice of pie "Oh this is gonna be gold! Can I come. I want to record it"

"NO!" Christie shrieked.

"No" Booth said, frowning at his son.

"For educational purposes only of course. You know. She can watch and see at what point during her reverse parking your veins begin to bulge and saliva starts spraying from your mouth." Hank said, grinning at his sister as he demolished a third slice of pie.

"Hank, dear. I'm fairly certain that you've just ingested your weekly allowance of dessert" Brennan said, pulling the pie dish out of his reach.

Brennan noticed that Booth and Christine were engulfed in one of their daily staring matches. Christine may look like her, but she was all Booth when it came to her personality and willpower. They sat opposite each other, eyes locked. One set dark brown, intense, determined. The other set light blue/grey, equally determined, like flint.

"Ten bucks Dad chokes" Hank whispered to his mother, making her chuckle.

"Hank" Booth said, his voice wavering as he felt himself crumbling.

Then, to everyone's surprise, Christine dropped her gaze and said "Fine. But I don't want to learn in the SUV. Can I learn in Mom's car?"

"It's safer in my car" he said.

"But its so big. And I'm scared I won't be able to park in it." She batted her eyelashes at her father.

Booth didn't like Brennan's new car. It was low and sleek and shiny and worst of all. It was fast. And he didn't want Christine getting a taste of that.

"Non negotiable" he said simply, and shrugged "My car or no license".

"Booth" Brennan started to speak.

"Not this time Bones. She wants to learn to drive. She might as well learn in a large, safe car. Then she'll be able to handle pretty much anything. No offence, but, I've driven with you." he said, then grinned.

"What does that mean?" Brennan answered, offended by his comment. "I'm a very good driver. Christine, you've driven with me. You know I'm a good driver."

"Well I've driven with you Mom and I've only held on for dear life every other time" Hank chimed in.

Booth and Hank both chuckled loudly at that. Brennan tried to keep a straight face, but watching the two men in her life, so alike, laughing together made it hard. Their dark eyes, shining, their wide mouths with large straight square teeth turning up exactly the same. Their cheeks dimpling the same way. She ended up conceding and allowed the corners of her mouth to turn up.

"Well I'm so pleased you all find this so hilarious" Christine huffed.

Hank leaned towards her and poked her in the ribs "Come on sis. Take a chill pill. Listen, you could do far worse than having Dad as a driving instructor. Besides" he leaned in close to her ear "Don't forget he's been in heaps of car chases and really knows how to handle that car." he winked.

Christine took a deep breath and tilted her head to one side, contemplating her parents who were discussing her mother's driving ability.

"I accept" Christine finally said.

Booth stopped talking with Brennan and turned his head "Huh?" he mumbled.

"I accept your offer of driving lessons. In your car. But you'll have to write a note to school that I'm not doing Driver's Ed because you don't consider them capable of teaching me." She said tilting her chin up. "Oh! And you need to let them know that I will be leaving school on those afternoons. There's no point me being there on my own when everyone else in my class is at driving lessons." her mouth dimpled on the corners.

Booth exhaled "Fine. But if that's the case, I'll be picking you up and you'll be doing your homework at my office until it's time for me to finish. We'll do your driving lessons on weekends."

"That's great! I'll be able to film her lessons then!" Hank asked.

"You're not" Booth said.

"Don't even think about it Hank" Christine said.

Hank huffed and folded his arms "I'm never going to get any good footage for my movie" he muttered.

* * *

"Right. Seatbelt on. Check the mirrors. Hands at two and ten. Check the mirrors again"

"Dad, I haven't even turned on the car yet!" Christine said, turning and staring at her father.

"Don't look at me! You need to be concentrating." Booth told her off. "Now, check the mirrors"

"Dad! I did that already. Three times. We're still in the driveway!" Christine was beginning to understand why Hank had been laughing when he had told her to enjoy her lesson and then laughed so hard he had tears rolling down his face. She took a deep breath "alright. I've checked the rear view and the side mirrors. Three times. Can I start the car now"

Booth nodded "OK. Press the ignition button."

The car engine roared into life and Christine smiled as she felt the vibration in the steering wheel.

"Foot on the brake. Shift into reverse" he said.

Christine let out a slight shriek as she felt the car jerk as she moved the stick to the reverse position.

"Now gently." Booth said.

Christine released pressure on the clutch sending the car backwards down the drive.

"Brake! Brake!" he yelled.

Christine braked a little too hard, sending both their heads forwards.

Booth reached over and shifted the gear stick to Park. "OK. OK. I think that's enough for today"

"DAD! I haven't even gotten out the drive yet!" Christine yelled back. "Can't you reverse it out of the drive and then all I have to do is drive forwards?" she asked.

Booth sat for a moment, wondering what the hell he had let himself in for. "OK. Fine. We'll try that." he said and double checked that the car was in Park and that the handbrake was engaged.

Christine rolled her eyes and unbuckled her seatbelt as he pulled open the drivers door.

Once the car was on the street, Booth and Christine switched places again and Booth began going through his list of instructions again, making Christine cringe. She almost wished she had just not worried about learning to drive. Almost.

"Right. Mirrors? Release the handbrake. Foot on the brake. Shift to Drive. Slowly." Booth said.

The car jerked slightly.

"Slowly!" he repeated as Christine released the pressure on the brake pedal.

"Now move your foot to the accelerator and very, very gently press. Gently!" he said.

Christine's hands were sweating as they gripped the steering wheel. She wasn't stressed about the car moving, but about her father shrieking at her every minute.

"Gently!" he repeated.

"Dad! Please!" Christine said. She pressed the ball of her foot onto the accelerator and the car started to roll forwards. She smiled as the car moved slightly faster down the street.

"OK. OK, good. Now you are going to have to turn at the end. So you need to start slowing down now" Booth said.

"Dad, the corner is a quarter of a mile away" she said.

"Don't talk. You'll get distracted. Just start decelerating" he said.

Christine did as she was told and started allowing the car to slow down. It was barely crawling along now.

"Dad. I'm pretty sure I could walk to the corner faster" she said sarcastically.

"You'd prefer walking to driving? That's OK with me!" Booth said smugly.

"Dad" Christine said.

Booth suddenly became aware that they were almost at the corner. "OK, you need to stop when we get to the corner. Indicator on now. Brake. Brake. Brake. Check your mirrors. Slower. Mirrors"

Christine bit down on her bottom lip as the car literally crawled to the corner, then jerked as she pressed on the brake, bringing the car to a complete stop.

"Great job!" Booth said as he moved the shift stick into the Park position and unbuckled his seatbelt.

"What are you doing?" Christine asked as he got out of the car. "What's going on?"

He pulled open the door and nodded at her. "Lesson over! You did great baby. Now come on. Hop out. I'll drive home" he said.

Christine's mouth dropped open. "But we only drove to the corner. How is that it? I don't understand!" she said as she unbuckled her seatbelt.

"And you did really good. Next lesson we'll tackle the corner." He said patting her on the back as she got out of the car "Don't want to overdo it first lesson" he added.

"We drove approximately one quarter of a mile Dad. How is that all I'm allowed to do?" Christine asked, frustration in her voice.

Booth looked at his daughter as she stood on the footpath "Baby, driving is dangerous. You just drove for the first time. Let's not get cocky" he said.

Christine blinked her eyes several times, then she shook her head "You've got to be kidding me" she said, then turned and started walking towards home.

"Don't you want a lift?" Booth called after her.

Christine didn't bother replying. She was muttering to herself as she walked along, her feet stomping into the sidewalk. _Why did I agree to this. I'll be the laughing stock of everyone. I really need to talk to Mom._

Her father's car suddenly pulled up beside her as she walked.

"You did really good baby! I promise we'll go further next lesson!" Booth called through the window.

Christine refused to look at him. She was so embarrassed.

Booth pulled away and turned into their drive, just ahead of her. She looked up to see Hank standing there with his movie camera.

"Turn that off Hank!" she yelled, covering her face with her hand.

"Our young driver has returned home on foot. She looks extremely unhappy, and has reacted aggressively to our presence. Perhaps the older male has angered her. Let's watch her and see how she reacts to him" Hank was speaking in a low voice as he filmed her.

Booth walked towards her, his arms held out wide "Here she is! My young driver!" he said smiling widely.

Christine stopped walking and stared at him for a moment, then stormed straight past him, her face like thunder. "Mom!" she yelled out as she walked through the front door.

Hank had followed her with the camera, until she entered the house, then turned and filmed his father follow Christine into the house "Christine, are you going to tell your mother how well you did?" he said as he followed her.

"Seems like that went well !" Hank said smiling as he lowered the camera.


	5. Chapter 5

"Dad, can you just look at the camera and smile. Please." Hank asked, his eye pressed against the viewer of the old video camera he was holding.

"No" Booth said, barely turning his eyes away from the screen of the TV.

"Dad. Just glance at the camera and nod"

"No"

"That's great Dad. Just keep staring at the TV. Just like that." Hank said as he circled his father, gradually zooming in on Booth's face.

Hanks voice dropped an octave and in a whispery voice began narrating "Note how the eyes are focussed intently on the screen of the television. He barely blinks. We should be wary at this point not to disturb him too much"

"Hank!" Booth turned and grimaced at the camera.

"Perfect!" Hank grinned and stood up straight. "That was great Dad." he said, turning and walking towards the kitchen.

Booth stared at his son as he walked away and shook his head "That kid is weird" he muttered. He leaned back in his recliner and stretched his arms high above his head, then folded them, placing his hands behind his head. He let out a loud, contented sigh.

"Bones? Will you be long? The ads before the movie is about to start" he called out.

Brennan's voice floated back to him from the kitchen "I'm just making a sandwich for Hanks movie and I'll be right there."

Booth's eyes squinted slightly, his forehead crinkling "A sandwich for his movie?" He pulled his hands from behind his head and picked up the remote, his finger hovering over the volume button, when the doorbell rang.

"Bones?" he called out. "Hank?"

The doorbell rang again.

"Anybody that isn't me?" Booth called out again. _Of course nobody comes_ he muttered to himself as he folded in the footrest of the recliner and stood up.

The doorbell rang one more time.

"Oh for God's sake! I'm coming!" he yelled as he walked to the door, grabbing the door handle and pulling the door open.

"What?" he growled at the young man standing there. "Are you the pizza guy?" Booth said then turned around and yelled into the house "Did anyone order pizza?"

"Uh, No. Sir. Mr Booth? Sir." The young man began to stammer.

"Speak up. What do you want? My movie is about to start. Are you one of Hank's friends?" Booth fired off several questions.

The boy at the door began to pale. He took a half step backwards. "I'm. Sir. I'm here to see Christine. Your daughter." he said, his voice quavering.

Booth frowned "I know she's my daughter. My question to you is" he leaned forwards, his face hovering inches from the young man's "who are you, and how do you know Christine?" Booth's voice was low and one step short of being menacing.

"I. I." the boy cleared his throat "I'm"

"Speak up boy!" Booth growled, rather enjoying the effect he was having on the terrified young man who had backed several more steps away from the front door.

"Daddy! What are you doing?" Christine's voice was agitated as she grabbed her father's arm and pulled him backwards.

"Me? Shouldn't I be asking that question of you?" Booth said, defensively. "If you must know, this strange person, whom I do not know, arrives at my door. Just as my movie is about to begin, I might add. And demands to see my sixteen year old daughter. I think I'm well within my rights to demand to see some ID and ask why he is ringing my doorbell and asking for you!"

"You are SO embarrassing. And I'm seventeen!" Christine said, pushing past her father and going to stand next to the young man, who was quivering on the spot.

"I'm really sorry Brady. I should have warned you, but I was hoping they might have been out" she said to the boy, who was beginning to have second thoughts about this whole date thing.

"Out? Why would we have gone out? You know I look forward to the Friday night movie of the week with your mother. And were you actually going to sneak out without me knowing?" Booth said.

Christine had taken hold of her date's arm and was pulling him towards the front door "Don't mind him. He's just trying to intimidate you" she said.

"He's succeeding" the boy said trying to avoid making eye contact with Booth who was a good three inches taller than he.

"Booth! What are you doing to Christine's friend. We've talked about this!" Brennan's voice made Booth turn around.

"What? Are you comfortable with strange boys just arriving at the door wanting to see our sixteen year old daughter?" he said, feeling justified in his bully boy tactics.

"I'm seventeen!" Christine yelled at her father as she directed her friend into the living room and pointed at a seat on the sofa. "I'm positively mortified that you had to endure that Brady. I'm almost ready. Would you mind? I'll be five minutes?" she said.

Brady sat stiffly on the sofa looking around the room. The things that jumped out at him were photographs of Booth with several high profile people. And the collection of old firearms in a case up on the wall. Then there were the odd shrunken heads, that almost appeared to be playfully displayed on the mantle next to a statue of what appeared to be a native man with an enormous

"So. First off. Who are you?" Booth's voice pulled the boy's attention back to him.

"B.B. Brady Pinkerman sir." the boy stammered.

"Pinkerman. Pinkerman. Wait. I'm sure we put a Pinkerman in jail recently?" Booth said frowning, as he stared at the boy.

Brady blanched "Uh. My Uncle is in jail" he said quietly.

"Bones! Not happening!" Booth yelled out to his wife, who came into the room and sat on the couch with Brady. "This here?" he gestured to Brady. "Not happening"

"Don't pay any attention to him. Booth tends to be a little over protective of Christine" she said, smiling at the young man, trying to make him feel at home. "Can I get you a soda? Water? Milk?" she offered.

They didn't notice Hank edging along the opposite wall, his camera pointed in their direction.

"So where did you meet my sister Brody?" he asked suddenly stepping up to Brady, holding the camera right in front of his face.

"Uh, it's Brady. Um, school? Are you videoing me?" Brady said, confused.

"School? So are you in the same year as her? Are you a senior? What college are you planning to attend?" Hank asked rapidly.

"Good questions son! Where do you live? What do your parents do?" Booth added.

"Hank! Put down the camera! Booth! Please leave him be." Brennan said, completely embarrassed. "Brady I must apologise for my husband and son."

Brady smiled nervously at Brennan "Oh. Sure. That's fine." he stammered, then looked at Booth "I think we got off on the wrong foot Mr Booth" he bravely held out a hand. "I'm Brady Pinkerman. I'm here to take Christine to the movies. She obviously didn't tell you. I'm sorry." he said.

Booth's eyes narrowed, his chin resting on his fist as he stared at Brady, ignoring the proffered hand.

Brady swallowed and his eyes nervously flicked to Brennan and then back to Booth.

Hank quietly turned the camera back on and slowly lifted it to his eye.

"Hank! Out!" Brennan said, pointing at the doorway.

"Mom! Come on! This is a once off opportunity! The first time a guy comes to take Christine on a date! I'm never going to get footage this good again!" Hank argued.

"Hank. Do as your mother says" Booth said reluctantly.

Brady swallowed "You asked about my family. Uh. Dad works at the bank on Smith Street."

"Manager?" Booth asked.

"No. He's involved in lending. My Mom teaches kindergarten. And I have two older sisters. They're away at college" Brady said, wondering how much information he was going to have to provide. Never had he been grilled before when picking up a girl for a date.

"How many girlfriends have you had? Is Christine the first girl you've asked out?" Booth asked. He was tempted to take out his notebook, but he knew if he did Bones would kill him.

"I. I've never had a girlfriend sir. I mean. I've dated a little. But nothing long term." Brady said.

"How many girls? Don't think that my Christine is going to become a notch on your belt!" Booth said gruffly.

Brady held up his hands as if to block Booth "What? No! I really like Christine. We've only been seeing each other a few weeks. I wanted to come and meet you earlier, but she wouldn't let me!" Brady said, understanding now why Christine hadn't wanted him to come to the house to pick her up before.

Booth's mouth became slack and he sat back in his chair. "a few weeks?" he said softly, not believing that his little girl had been seeing a boy and he didn't know.

Christine chose that moment to walk into the room. She could sense something had happened. Her dad looked weird. Her mom was sitting staring at the floor and Hank was hovering in the doorway with his camera balanced on his shoulder. She pointed at Hank and said "that better not be running Hank. I swear I will destroy you if it is."

Hank blanched and pulled the camera down "No. Nope. All good. Leaving now!" he turned and disappeared.

"Dad? What did you say?" Christine said worried about what her father may have said. "Mom? He didn't threaten him did he?"

Brennan looked at her daughter, sadness tinging her eyes "Why didn't you tell us?" she said.

Christine rolled her eyes and let her head fall backwards "Great." she muttered and sat in between her mother and Brady.

Brady looked at her and tilted his head in the direction of Booth "Now I get what you were talking about" he half whispered.

Christine reached out and grabbed Brady's hand, pulling it into her lap, which of course made Booth sit up.

"Woah, what are you doing?" he said, pointing at the joined hands.

"Dad. We're holding hands. You do remember what that is?" Christine retorted her chin jutted out.

"Just. Don't. None of that." he stammered.

"Booth please don't be ridiculous" Brennan said. She looked at Christine, then at Brady and smiled "So how long have you two been an item?" she asked.

"An item? Do you mean how long have we been dating?" Christine said, a smile playing around her lips. "I started dating Brady about five weeks ago."

"Five weeks?" Booth said. "Five weeks. You didn't ask us if it was OK for you to date! You're too young!" he exclaimed.

"Dad. I'm seventeen. I'm not twelve" I happen to know that you had your first sexual encounter when"

Brennan stood up "Ah, Christine, there's no need to go into that right now"

Booth's eyes popped open "How do you know that? Bones! You told her?" he threw his hands up and let them fall heavily onto the arms of the leather chair. "Great. Just great. Those things are supposed to be just ours, remember?" he added looking at Brennan.

"Booth, I needed to have that sex talk with Christine a few years ago, and it seemed appropriate to tell her about our own early sexual encounters to put things in perspective." Brennan started to say.

"Mom!" Christine covered her face with her free hand.

"Bones! Don't talk about the" his voice dropped low "sex and sexual encounters stuff!" Booth mumbled, half covering his mouth with his hand.

"Don't stop on my account" Hank said as he flopped into a chair. "This is fascinating! I have to try to work this into my movie! Work the whole coming of age thing in" he said, leaning forward, his elbows resting on his knees, his hands cupping his face, as he grinned at each person.

Christine sat staring at her parents, feeling her face burning as she gripped Brady's hand.

"So Brady. Seeing as my parents are unable to comprehend that their daughter has a boyfriend. I'd like to ask you. What are your intentions towards my sister? Hank said, grinning at Christine's date.

Brady sat for a moment, then cleared his throat and stood up, still holding Christine's hand.

"Mr Booth. Mrs Booth. I'm sorry about all this. I wanted to meet you earlier. I did. But Christine was. Well. She didn't think that you would take it too well." Brady said. He shuffled his feet "I like your daughter. I like her a lot. She's the nicest, funniest, smartest girl I've ever met. And she's beautiful. I mean, what's not to love." he stopped short, his face reddening as Christine's eyes began to shine as she looked up at him. "I mean like. What's not to like. I know it's too soon to be talking about love. She's real popular. And I never thought I'd have a chance with a girl like her." He stopped and looked down at Christine, giving her hand a squeeze.

Brennan was sitting smiling at Brady while Booth tried not to jump out of his chair and strangle the boy that was holding his little girls hand.

"But she said yes when I asked her to go steady. Me! She's going steady with me. Look. I'm in the top 5 percentile in classes. I'm on the track team. I have a part time job working at the local garden centre on weekends and during summer vacation. I have a car that used to be my mothers. It's reliable and it's safe. I'm a good guy Mr Booth. I'm honest, and I'm reliable. And I'm respectful. And I'm hoping that you'll get to know me and be OK with me dating your daughter." Brady finished, taking a deep breath, and sitting down.

Christine linked her arm through his and leaned in and kissed him.

"Hey! Hey, none of that, OK? I just found out that my baby girl has a boyfriend. And that she's been dating without me knowing. Just let me wrap my head around that please, without all the lips touching and stuff." Booth said, waving his hand around in the direction of Christine as if to separate them magically.

Brennan cleared her throat and smiled "Brady, thank you for that. We're just a bit surprised. We obviously, were not informed of your and Christine's relationship. So it has caught us by surprise."

"And that's the understatement of the year!" Hank added.

"Shutup Hank!" Christine said.

"Hank?" Brennan tilted her head at her precocious son.

"You're not part of this conversation Hank" Booth said, then turned his attention back to his daughter. "I really would prefer having this conversation in private, but that's pointless now." he started. He looked up at the ceiling for a moment, "I'm just disappointed that you didn't feel you could tell me" he said looking straight at his daughter.

He watched her face change before him. She was a tiny sweet toddler of two, cupping his face and giving him sloppy kisses. Then she was four, asking if she could marry him and wear a crown of flowers on her head. Six year old Christine was curious and interested in everything he did and followed him around like a puppy. Ten year old Christine was smart and loved curling up on the sofa with him while they watched the Flyers. At twelve she was rattling off stats as they watched the playoffs together and ate popcorn and icecream when her mother wasn't home.

"Chris. You're growing up so fast. I just." He hesitated and felt pricking in the corners of his eyes as he blinked away tears "You're my baby girl. I'm just not ready to give you up. I'm not ready to have you going out all the time and never spending any time with me" he said, his voice choking up.

Christine watched her father and felt a lump in her throat. It suddenly occurred to her that her dad was just scared that he was losing his little girl. She stood up and walked over to his chair and sat down on the arm of it, wrapping her arms around her father's shoulders.

"Oh Daddy. I'm not going to stop being your daughter. Not at all. But I'm growing up! I'm going to be eighteen in four months!" she said.

"Stop! Don't remind me!" Booth said looking up at her.

Christine laughed and kissed his forehead "Oh you silly man. I love you. You will always be the number one man in my life." she said, kissing his forehead again. "Always" She turned and looked at Brady, "Sorry, Brades" she said smiling at her boyfriend. "He's my Dad". Then turned back to her father "I always hoped that this day would come. That a nice boy would want to date me. And I knew it was going to be hard. That's why I didn't tell you and Mom. I just wanted it to be exciting and be just between me and Brady. I just wanted it to be ours for a while."

Booth looked over at Brennan, who smiled at him "What's ours is ours" she said softly.

Hank was fascinated with the scene unfolding in front of him. He pulled a notebook out of his shirt pocket and began jotting notes in it.

Booth sighed heavily and patted Christine's leg and stood up. He walked over and stood in front of Brady and held out his hand. Brady sat for a moment then stood up and took the proffered hand. Booth pumped it up and down repeatedly, leaning in as he did.

"You hurt her, and I will do things to you that I can't even tell you about because they're illegal in 49 states. OK?" he whispered, then pulled back and grinned at Brady who looked like he was going to pass out.

Christine stepped in-between them and wrapped her arm around Brady's waist "It's OK. He's just joking. Aren't you Dad?" she said glaring at her father.

Brennan stood next to Booth, reaching behind him and pinching him as hard as she could.

He flinched "Of course I am baby!" he said through gritted teeth.

"Good" Brennan said. " I think we should let these two go on their date. Have a great night sweetie" she kissed her daughters cheek and nodded to Brady "It really has been lovely meeting you Brady. Hopefully next time we can have a nice meal and get to know you better" she said.

Booth walked the two young people to the door . Christine stood on tippy toes and kissed her father on the cheek "Thanks Daddy. You're the best" she said then walked through the door.

Brady nodded and started to walk past Booth, who grabbed him by the arm "I work for the FBI. Never forget that" he hissed in the boys ear, then let go and smiled brightly "Have a great time! Home by midnight!" he said as he waved goodbye.

He turned and stared at Brennan "My life is over!" he said, making Brennan laugh as she hugged him.


	6. Chapter 6

"Dad! You missed the turn!" Christine's voice shrieked from the back seat.

"Stop yelling at me Chris! It's fine. I'll take the next turn" Booth replied over his shoulder.

"But" his daughter grabbed his shoulder.

Brennan turned and gently prised her daughters hand off Booth's shoulder "It's alright Christine. Dad knows where he's going. Don't you Booth?" she asked him.

"Next turn off is quarter mile Dad" Hank offered from the back seat, waving his portable GPS in the air.

Christine slumped back in her seat, arms folded over her chest. She could feel her anxiety rising as they got closer to the campus that was going to be her home for the next four years. She had been accepted at CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City which was widely regarded among the finest, if not the very finest, college for criminal justice in the entire world.

It made Brennan extremely proud to announce to all and sundry that her daughter was going to be a world class criminologist and that less than half of all applicants are accepted to this exceptionally selective and historic institution. Booth was just proud of his little girl, for not only graduating high school with honours, but also knowing exactly what she wanted to do.

It also made his chest swell knowing that his daughter had actually been accepted at no less than five different colleges. Her mother of course insisted that she accept a place at CUNY, and not even entertain going anywhere else. Of course, he would have preferred if she had attended college closer to home and didn't go to live on campus. But deep down, he knew that it wasn't an option. She was eighteen now, and definitely her own woman. Booth smiled as he turned the corner and approached the entrance of the college. _She definitely was the best mix of both of them._ he thought.

"Turn here!" Christine yelled, her hand, index finger extended shot past his ear. "Turn!"

Booth rolled his eyes and obeyed, easing the car around the corner and into the entrance of the visitors parking lot. Booth's eyes were scanning left and right looking for a free space.

"Four cars up on the left Dad" Hank offered.

Booth grinned and nodded "Good work son" he said, making the turn into the empty space, but suddenly jamming on the brakes as a bright green, low, sporty car tried to push in front of him. He leaned into the horn and glared at the driver, who glared back.

"Don't Dad. Let's just look for another spot" Christine's voice, pitchy with stress came from the back seat. The last thing she needed was her overly zealous father getting into a car park war. But no. Booth had his seat belt unclipped and had thrown open the car door and was striding around the front of his car before she could stop him.

"You really think you can just push in front of me? I'm already turned into the park! Are you blind?" Booth started saying, using his best, annoyed FBI voice.

"Oh yeah. You tell 'em Dad" Hank said, grinning and winding down his window so he could hear the altercation that he hoped was going to ensue. He lifted his video camera and pressed record.

"Hank, put your window up" Brennan said, turning in her seat. She looked at her daughter who had slid down in the back seat and had her hands over her face. "Christine, it'll be fine." she added softly.

"That's easy for you to say" Christine said, through her fingers. "What if I'm in a class with that person? Oh my god!" she added, slipping further down.

"You think because you have some slick expensive little vehicle that I'm just going to back out? Dream on partner. Off you go. I'm sure you can find another spot." Booth said, flicking his hand in a dismissive manner in the face of a woman wearing far too much makup.

"How dare you!" The woman's prissy voice floated in the window.

"Oh boy lady. You don't know who you're dealing with." Hank chuckled as he zoomed in on his father.

"Hank! Please!" Brennan said, worried what Booth would say. The woman was the exact type that rankled him.

"Look lady. I'm already here. And I am going to park here. So if you don't want your little matchbox car dented, I suggest you back it up and move along." Booth said, pulling himself up to his full height.

"Do it" Hank said sitting up higher.

"Oh God, he isn't going to" Christine mumbled, peering at her father between her fingers.

Booth flicked back the front of his jacket and hooked his fingers into his belt, revealing his FBI badge.

"No!"

"Yes!"

Brennan turned and shushed her children then turned back to watch Booth.

The woman's eyes flicked down to the badge clipped to Booth's belt. She sucked in her bottom lip, then flicked her hair, running her fingers through it, tucking it behind her diamond encrusted ear. She looked up at Booth and tipped her head to one side, planting her hand on a hip.

Brennan rolled up her window and turned to Hank. "Put up your window now" she said firmly "and turn off that camera!"

Hank frowned "Mom! What? No! This is gonna be the best part!" he complained, but seeing the look in his mother's eyes, he complied.

They sat in silence watching Booth's mouth moving, then the woman's. It went back and forth for a few minutes, culminating with Booth opening the door for the woman and grinning gleefully as he flicked it shut. He topped it off by giving her a cheeky little wave as she backed her car out and drove off. He turned and grinned widely, his hands held out to the side as he walked back to the car.

He got into the driver's seat, and pulled the car forwards into the car park. "And that, people, is how it's done.

Hank laughed and patted his father's shoulder "That was awesome Dad! I wish I could have listened to what you talked about but Mom made me wind up the window." he said, frowning at his mother "ruined a great bit of film too!"

Booth, Brennan and Hank all exited the car and started unpacking Christine's things from the back of the SUV, when they realised Christine was still in the car.

Booth walked around to her door and opened it. "Chris? Come on! Let's get your things and find your room!"

Christine glared up at him "Dad, you are the most embarrassing man! Why did you have to do that? And flashing your badge? Ugh" she groaned. "Like, why are you even wearing it? You're not on duty you know!"

"Oh lighten up pumpkin. That woman was just some spoiled rich bitch who thought she could drop a few names and make sure I knew she had money, and I would just back away and say, Of course, take my parking spot. You know I can't stand those types" Booth said, reaching across Christine's body and unclipping her seatbelt. "Come on"

Christine sat staring at the back of the seat in front of her for a moment, then looked up at her dad who was standing with the cheesiest grin. She wanted to stay mad, but when he pulled that face and then bowed with a flourish, she couldn't keep a straight face.

"OK. You win. But you have to know how embarrassed I was. I mean, Dad! What if she is the mother of my room mate!" Christine said.

"Well I damn well hope she's not!" Booth said. "Because that would mean you were sharing a room with that weedy, insipid boy that was sitting in the front seat!"

Christine burst out laughing "Well thank goodness for that!" she said getting out of the car, taking his offered hand. "If I'm going to be sharing a room with a boy, I at least want him to look like Kit Harrington!" she added.

"What? Wait. You're joking right? Who's Kit Harrison? This isn't some weird co-ed room sharing dorm? Is it?" Booth asked, unsure if his daughter had failed to tell him something.

"I guess we'll find out!" Christine said, smiling to herself.

She walked around the back of the car and picked up her backpack and slung it over her shoulders and grabbed another bag. "Well, this is it. Let's go find my room." she said.

Brennan picked up a box of personal items and referred to a map that she had placed on the top of the box. "Well we know you're in The Towers, and you're on the fourth level" she said.

"Wait! Chris. Are you joking?" Booth followed his daughter, panic rising in his chest.

"How much stuff did you bring?" Hank asked videoing the boxes still in the back of the car.

"We'll just have to come back for a second trip" Christine said, excited now.

"Oh _we_ will. Will _we_?" Hank muttered, knowing that it would be he and his father that had to come back and lump boxes god knows how far to his sisters room.

Brennan and Christine started walking up the long straight concrete path to the doors of the dorm building with Booth following, still trying to get a straight answer about whether his daughter was going to be sharing with a boy or not. Hank followed, pulling a suitcase along with one hand, his trusty video camera in the other filming his family walking ahead of him.

* * *

Three hours later, Booth, Brennan, Hank and Christine stood together just outside the foyer of The Tower where Christine had settled into her dorm room. It turned out that she was going to be sharing with a lovely girl from Texas who was studying the exact same course as Christine, which made Booth very happy. Hank was instantly smitten with the girl who was a petite, dark haired, dark eyed beauty. He had cheekily asked for her phone number _'just in case they couldn't get in touch with Christine in an emergency'_ , which had completely mortified his sister.

Christine could feel a lump forming in her throat as she looked at her mother. Brennan's eyes were glistening with unfallen tears and the end of her nose had grown red as she fought not to cry. Booth reached out and pulled his daughter into his arms and held her against his chest, kissing the top of her head. She wanted to pull away, but at the same time, she didn't want to let go.

"You remember to call every night. Let your mother know how you're going" he mumbled. Then leaned down and kissed her cheek, releasing his grip on her.

"I'll be depositing money into your account every week. Don't let yourself go without anything you need. And make sure you eat properly. I don't want to see you when we come back in six weeks, looking like a malnourished model. If you're not nutritionally sound, you won't be able to concentrate and excel at your studies" Brennan said, hugging her daughter and kissing her several times.

"See ya Sis" Hank said, standing at a distance as he videoed the touching family moment.

Christine walked over to him and punched him in the arm "You're not getting away with a pathetic goodbye like that!" she said as she hugged him as hard as she could. "You're so annoying but I'm really going to miss you and your stupid video camera" she said.

They hugged and kissed Christine one more time, then reluctantly walked back to their car. Hank of course, walking backwards because that would make a killer scene as Christine got smaller and smaller in the distance.

They got into their car and Booth turned and looked at Brennan who was staring straight ahead. He reached out and brushed a tear from her cheek with his index finger. "She's going to be fine. And so are we." he said softly.

"Of course you are! You still have me at home!" Hank interjected, then had an idea. "Hey! If Chris is going to be gone for four years, can I move into her room? It's so much bigger than mine."

Brennan began to laugh and turned around. "Not a chance" she said. She reached out and Hank leaned in and kissed his mother's cheek. Brennan smiled, feeling her sadness leave.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm hungry after all that moving. Let's go find a burger place and have dinner before we head back to Philly." Booth said. They had booked a hotel there so that he and Hank could go to a hockey game the following day. It was a treat for Hank. But Brennan knew that Booth was really looking forward to it.

"Sounds like a plan, man!" Hank said, salivating at the thought of a big juicy burger and chilli cheese fries and a shake.

Booth started the car and started reversing, when a high pitched car horn made him jam on his brakes. He turned to see the woman in the green sports car driving past the back of his car, her arm out the window and her middle finger fully extended in his direction.

He frowned and growled "I oughta chase her down, pull her over and"

"Booth. Just let it go. We'll never have to see her again with any luck." Brennan said, resting her hand on Booth's arm

Booth looked at Brennan and smiled. He nodded and laughed. "You're right of course."

"I know" she replied as Booth reversed out and drove towards the exit of the college.

"Just go a bit slower Dad! I'm doing a pulling away shot!" Hank yelled as he focussed his camera out the back window of the car.

Brennan looked back over her shoulder "She'll do well here" she murmured.

"Of course she will Bones. She's a Booth!" Booth said as he pulled out into the road and started driving away.

He looked in the rear view mirror and watched the college get smaller as he drove away.

 _Of course she will. She's my little girl_


End file.
